From the Mouths of Birds
by Bob The Other Zombie
Summary: Kiri overhears something she's not supposed to, and, in true Kiri fashion, proceeds to tell everyone.


The next time Molly takes watch with Yasha, Molly's got a smirk on his face.

Yasha does her best not to ask. She's learned this look means trouble. Of course, Molly is persistent, and as watch begins, he sits down next to her. "So, are you buying weapons for the party now?"

Yasha eyes him, confused. "What?"

Molly jerks his head over to where Beau is sleeping by Jester. "Since you bought her throwing stars, I assume you're getting us all something. I have a few things I could use-"

"Molly." Yasha says. She doesn't need to look at him to see his grin.

Molly lowers his voice. "Have you tried talking to her? She definitely wants to talk to you."

"I don't..." Yasha leans back against the tree. "I...well, we did have watch together, and we talked, and..."

"And?"

Yasha chews on her lip. "I told her I like I grass?"

Molly barks a laugh, loud enough that Kiri murmurs a "go fuck yourself" and turns over in her sleep. "What? How did that come up?"

"I don't know." Yasha lowers her voice. "We were talking about how cold it was, she said she could see her breath but she didn't want my cloak, and then I saw the grass, and...you know..."

"Hold on." Molly says, chuckling. "You offered her your cloak?"

Yasha waves a hand at him to shush him. "It was...she said we should huddle for warmth, but I had Frumpkin, so-" Molly begins laughing again, and Yasha claps a hand over his mouth before he can get too loud. "Shh, shh, don't wake anyone!"

Molly pries her hand off of his mouth, but he's lowered his voice. "Oh, thank you, Yasha. This is the best gift you could've given me tonight." Yasha shoves him, and he chuckles. "But seriously-"

"I'm not ready." Yasha whispers.

"You don't have to date her, just talk to her about something other than grass." says Molly. "See what happens. Make a new friend, maybe. She's not that bad."

"You're right." Yasha says, sighing. "I just- I dunno. Even if Beau is very- very attractive, I'm really not in a place where-"

"Rrrr?"

Molly and Yasha look up. Kiri is sitting up, staring at them, from where she was asleep near Jester.

"Hi, Kiri." Yasha says.

"Beau is very- very attractive." said Kiri, cocking her head.

Yasha sends a look of horror at Molly, who promptly begins cracking up. "No, no, don't wake them up." Yasha whispers. "No, shhh, no, no, I don't think Beau is attractive. I mean, I do think Beau is attractive, but I didn't mean it like-"

"Beau is attractive!" Kiri proclaims, and when Yasha grabs for her, she hops backwards. "No, no, no, don't wake them up!"

"Kiri?" Jester asks, stirring. Kiri echoes Yasha's barrage of cursing, and Jester sits up. "Oh, Kiri! Where did you learn that?"

"Don't wake them up!" Kiri says. "Oh, thank you, Yasha."

Jester grins at Yasha and Molly. It doesn't help that Molly is on the ground, completely failing to stifle laughter. "Ooh, Yasha, are you teaching Kiri something new?"

"No, I'm not." Yasha says, right as Kiri says, "I do think Beau is attractive!"

"Ooooh, Yasha thinks Beau is attractive?" Jester asks, too loudly.

Kiri nods vigorously. "Yasha thinks Beau is attractive! Don't wake them!"

"No!" Yasha says. "Shh, I, I didn't mean to teach Kiri that, could you-"

Jester's still grinning. "Sure." she says, and turns to Kiri, lowering her voice. "Kiri, don't say Yasha thinks Beau is attractive, okay? Especially not to Beau."

Kiri cocks her head. "Beau is attractive?"

"Yes." Jester says. "You should not say that to Beau, okay?"

"Don't say what to me?" asks Beau sleepily, and Yasha buries her face in her hands. Molly, beside her, has finally managed to regain some composure, but at Beau speaking, he loses it again.

"Oh, nothing." Jester says, voice still cheerful. "Yasha and I were just talking with Kiri about some stuff that has nothing to do with you."

Beau sits up, rubbing her eyes. "See, when you say it like that, it sounds like you're lying." She eyes Molly. "Why is he laughing? Kiri, what did they say?"

Kiri shakes her head. "No!" she says, in Yasha's voice, and then in Jester's, "You should not say that to Beau."

"It's okay, Beau." Jester waggles her fingers in front of Beau's face. "This is just a dream, oooooh. You're gonna wake up and this won't have happened."

"What?" Beau is so groggy from sleep that for a moment Yasha thinks she believes Jester. "Don't say what to Beau?"

"Kiri, don't say Yasha thinks Beau is attractive, okay?" says Kiri, in a perfect imitation of Jester's voice. "Especially not to Beau."

"What?!"

"I, uh, I'm sure I didn't, uh, I didn't say that..." Yasha says, and Jester nods vigorously. "You know, uh, kids, could've heard that from-"

Kiri fixes Yasha with a outraged look. "Beau is very- very attractive."

Jester giggles as Yasha flushes bright red, and Beau's mouth falls open. Beside her, Molly fails to turn a snort into a cough.

Yasha rubs her forehead. "Okay, well, maybe I did say that, a little bit."

"Very." says Kiri. "Very- very."

"I know, I know, she gets it, shh!"

There's a long pause. Yasha can feel Beau staring, but she doesn't lift her head. Jester clears her throat. "Well, that was a nice dream you had, Beau." she says. "I think maybe it is time for us to go back to sleep now."

"Right." Beau says finally, nodding. "Did, Yasha, did you-"

Fjord groans loudly. "Would you all please be quiet? Some of us are tryin' to sleep."

"Yes, yes, of course, Fjord." Jester says, reaching for Kiri. "Okay Kiri, okay Beau, I think it's time to go to sleep now, let's let these two keep watch, okay?"

"I thought this was a dream?" Beau mutters, but she lies back down next to Jester, and Kiri joins the two of them, fluffing up her feathers and cooing like she hadn't just created total chaos. After several minutes, their forms settled into stillness, their breathing became rhythmic, and the only noise was the crackle of the campfire.

Molly begins laughing again, quietly, hands in front of his face.

"Molly." Yasha whispers. She feels heat on her cheeks that has nothing to do with the fire.

* * *

The next day, they've found a small town to shop at, and Yasha immediately takes the chance to separate from the group. The party has been watching her and Beau all day, and it makes Yasha uncomfortable. She's never liked being watched.

"Hey, hey, wait up." a voice calls behind her. Yasha seriously considers pretending not to hear, but the instant she hesitates, Beau catches up to her, with Kiri on her shoulders.

"I need to go buy some weapons too." Beau says, after a moment. "So I thought we could walk together."

"Yeah, sure." Yasha says. "Uh, I don't know if they offer throwing weapons at the place I'm going though, so-"

"No, no, wait." Beau says, and Yasha waits. Beau doesn't speak.

"This means we are friends." Kiri offers.

Yasha sighs. "Listen, about-" she begins, right as Beau says "I wanted to-" They both stop, and Yasha gestures to Beau. "Uh, you go first, I guess."

"Uh, right." Beau says. "I wanted to- uh, Kiri, just..." She waves her hand up at Kiri.

"Kiri, I want you to say this to Yasha." says Kiri.

Beau glances at up her. "No, no, not that, the thing I wanted you to say! The thing, you know...ugh, fine, I was trying to do a whole thing, but I guess I'll-"

"Yasha is very, very attractive." Kiri says, in a perfect imitation of Beau's voice.

Beau throws one hand up. "Yeah. That."

"Uh, Beau." Yasha begins, but Beau shooks her head.

"No, uh, I didn't mean it like that, although you are, I just- you're embarrassed and now I'm embarrassed too, alright?" Beau says. "We both made it weird, so it cancels it out. Cuz, you know, I like you, not in that way, well, a little in that way, but anyways, I just don't want it to be weird."

"Right." Yasha says, trying to follow this.

Beau nods. "Right. I'll just-" She gestures vaguely back towards the rest of the group.

"Wait, Beau?" Yasha says, and Beau turns back. "Um. Thank you."

Beau smiles, looking down at the ground. It's the first time Yasha thinks she's ever seen Beau look shy. "Uh. You're welcome."

"And do you want to go weapons shopping?" Yasha asks. "I don't know, maybe they do have some throwing weapons."

Beau grins, her normal cocky grin. "Yeah, sure, we should check on those."

"This isn't-" Yasha hesitates. "I'm not ready for this to be a date. But maybe, someday, it could be?"

"Of course." Beau says, nodding.

"Welcome to the Mighty Nein!" Kiri adds.

Both women glance up at Kiri. "Shit." Beau says. "Kiri, you're gonna repeat all of this to the group, aren't you?"

Kiri chirps. "Yasha is very, very attractive. I like you."

"Of course." Yasha sighs, but as she follows the two of them down the street, she can't keep a small smile from her face.


End file.
